It’s another pretty morning, and not as windy as yesterday, so I’m anxious to get out on the water and see if I can get some more bear shots.  Well, those bears must have found a better breakfast spot, because I waited for them to appear for quite some time before giving up and heading back to the boat.  

Last year I took photos of the pretty point on the north side of False Bay.  This year, that pretty point is sporting a satellite for a large fish farm.  Sad.

Just before I got to the boat, I notice a little wake up ahead.  At first I couldn’t figure out what was making the wake.  So, I zoomed in on it and discovered a mink swimming for all he was worth.  

I started paddling for all I was worth, hoping to catch up with him before he landed.  But then, he spotted me, and instead of paddlng for the shore, he went submarine.  I never saw him again.  What a clever devil.

This evening, just before dark, Al spotted a bear turning rocks onshore.  I grabbed my camera and tried to get some shots, even though it was almost dark.

The sun is shining as I set out for a paddle around Bootleg Cove.  At the head of the cove, I came upon this shipwrecked fishing boat.

This anchorage is supposed to be bomb-proof.  Wonder what happened?

A low-hanging branch that is submerged at high tide creates an interesting subject at low tide.

Sunlight filtering through the trees was beautiful.

And, with a little imagination, this tree trunk looks like a long-haired woman running for higher ground.

There wasn’t much in the way of wildlife in Bootleg, so I decided to paddle through a tiny little channel that connects Bootleg to False Bay.  The tide was near low, so I had less than a foot of water under me at times.  But, I managed to find a path through and headed toward the head of the bay.  Since it was low tide, I didn’t get very far before I ran out of water.  So, I headed toward the other side of the bay , looking for signs of wildlife.  That’s where I spotted this pair of Canadian Honkers on the shore.  

Unfortunately, they were camera-shy.

By now, the wind had come up and blown me back to the other shore.  Just as well, because sitting at the very top of a very tall tree, I spotted this eagle.

The eagle seemed to be staring at something on the other shore.   When I turned around to check it out, there was this momma bear and her two cubs turning rocks, looking for breakfast.      

The wind was making the water choppy, and kept blowing me toward the bears.  I did not want momma bear to add me to her breakfast menu, but I did want to get at least one decent photo.  It was a struggle.    

Eventually, momma bear and cubs headed into the trees, probably to hunt up some greens.

It’s a beautiful day as we pull the anchor at 0630 hrs, headed for Cutter Cove.  Al checked the tide tables and it looks like we’ll have the wind and current going with us.  The sea is flat calm as we enter Sunderland Channel, and stays flat all the way up Johnstone Strait.  In fact, we ‘re making such good time, we’ve decided to keep on going to Bootleg Cove, in the Broughton Group.  

In Retreat Passage, a commercial prawner was setting out a long string of prawn traps.  Hope he’s left some prawns for us in Booker Lagoon.

By 1245 hrs, we have the anchor down in Bootleg Cove, on Gilford Island.  Bootleg Cove is very secluded, and just big enough for one boat.

Most of the boats in the anchorage left early this morning.  The wind is still blowing 15 to 20 knots in Johnstone Strait, so we decide to wait and leave tomorrow, when the wind is supposed to be light.

Late this afternoon, the wind died down considerably, so I decided to go for a paddle.  I headed outside again, just in case the wind comes up.  I spotted this  Canadian Coast Guard Cutter heading toward the entrance.

The Canadian Coast Guard does double duty, acting as Canadian Fisheries also.  Sometimes, they spot-check pleasure boats for fishing licenses, and to make sure no one is catching more than the limit.  Today, however, it looks like they’re just coming in to anchor for the night.

Once again, there isn’t any wildlife, so I decided to do some more experimenting with camera settings.  

I was almost back to the boat when I noticed a grassy area up ahead.  I thought, That looks like a good place to find wildlife, and started paddling in that direction.  As I got closer, I noticed a dark spot.  The dark spot moved.  My hunch was right.  That grass had attracted this bear, and he was going face down in it.

As I got closer, the bear finally spotted me and took off for the trees.

My dear friend, Marilynn Evans, called me on the satellite phone this morning to wish me happy birthday.  Marilynn had mailed my birthday present to Seattle before we left, and I’d been dying to open it all this time.  Well, it was worth the wait.  It was a box of Sees Chocolates!  You have no idea what luxury this is when you’re cruising.  Thanks, Marilynn.

The wind is still blowing, and is supposed to blow all day and night.  No kayaking today.  Guess I’ll just eat chocolates.

The forecast is for gale force winds today, so I decide to paddle upwind while the wind is still light, so that when the wind does comes up, I’ll have it behind me.  I’ll have the current behind me also, so the seas shouldn’t be too bad.  

I don’t spot any wildlife, so I decide to experiment with camera settings.  I tried shooting with different programs, at different F-stops, shutter speeds, ISO’s, and exposure values.

This is the cliff where I found the lichen the other day.

I shot toward the head of Forward Harbour, which was really beautiful with the snow-covered mountain that looms over the bay.  I finally settled on this shot.

Sadly, this sea star was the only “wildlife” I found today.  He was a real scrapper, though, barely holding on by the very tips of his “fingers”, and he still had at least 3 hours of clinging to that cliff before the tide would come back in.  Will he make it?  

By now, the wind started gusting to about 20 knots.  I found that I couldn’t make any headway paddling into it.  Time to head back to the boat, with the wind and current behind me, it was an easy paddle back to calmer waters. 

I got up early this morning, hoping to paddle to the head of the harbour to see where they put “B. C. Goose”.  The wind was only blowing about 5 knots when I set out.  The farther east I got, however, the stronger the wind became.  And, because the tide was going out, toward the West, opposing the wind from the East, the seas became quite choppy.  But, I was determined to check out “B.C. Goose,” and I was almost there, so I kept going.  The swell was behind me, so it was bearable. 

But, then the wind picked up some more and I started seeing whitecaps.  Time to turn around.  I managed to get a couple of shots of “B.C Goose” tied up to a dock.  Maybe she’ll still be there when we return next year.

When I came about and headed west, into the seas toward home, it got ugly.  For an hour-and-a-half, I battled my way up and over swells so steep that I was paddling air at times.  Not fun.  I felt like I was in an episode of “Victory at Sea”.  But, my little inflatable Walker Bay Play handled it admirably.  However, if the wind had been blowing any stronger, I might have been in trouble.  

As I got closer to the boat, I the water close to shore started smoothing out and the wind dropped dramatically.   Since the tide was so low, I started checking out the rocks for minks.   Sure enough, I spotted this cute guy.

He’d found himself a nice crab for breakfast.

He was really going to town on that crab.  I watched him for quite a while.  But, then he saw me and headed for the high ground.  However, he couldn’t resist stopping to see if I was stealing his crab.

The skies are overcast this morning, and the wind doesn’t seem to know what it wants to do.  So, I decide to see if the wind is going to settle down before I suit up to go paddling.  

While I’m waiting on the wind, the woman on the boat anchored nearby got herself and her dog suited up in life jackets.  The dog then jumped aboard a paddle board the woman was holding for it, and then the woman stepped aboard and paddled them ashore so that the dog could do its business. 

Well, I guess the wind isn’t all that bad.  So, I suited up and went for a paddle along the shore.  The wind is supposed to blow up to 30 knots today, so I didn’t get too far away from the boat, just in case.

The only wildlife I encountered were robins.  They were busy running here and there picking up breakfast goodies.  The tide is super low this morning, so they have a huge selection of goodies to choose from.

Just beyond the robins, behind a big log, I spotted what looked like a small sailing dinghy .  I wonder if it just washed up onshore?  It seemed to be a fair condition.

Nearby was what looked like part of a sail.

I heard the chug, chug, chugging sound of a diesel engine and looked up to see “BC Goose.” I took lots of photos of “BC Goose” last year.  She’d gone aground, just outside the entrance to Forward Harbour a few years ago.  Someone has apparently decided she’s worth salvaging, because she’s being towed east, toward the head of the harbor.  

The wind was still light, so I decided to head outside to see if the shipwrecked sailboat was still where I saw it last year.  I don’t think there’s any hope for the sailboat to be salvaged.

On my way back to the boat, way up on a cliff,  I spotted some pretty lichen, with ferns growing on it.  It was so soft and fluffy looking. 

A powerboat came into the anchorage, today, followed by two sailboats.  The powerboat anchored, and then the two sailboats rafted to it.  

It’s raining this morning as we head out for Forward Harbour. 

After checking and rechecking the tide tables, Al decided we should arrive at the south end of Yaculta Rapids about an hour before slack tide, so he can get a feel for when the current has slowed enough for us to get through safely.  We need to get through Yuculta before slack, in order to make it through Gillard Passage and Dent Rapids before the tide turns against us.  

While waiting, for the rapids to calm down a bit, I noticed a floatplane tied up at the dock of the resort.  He’s probably waiting for slack too.

Al’s strategy worked perfectly.   We made it through Yaculta, Gillard and Dent without being thrown around much at all. 

I also spotted these beautiful trees in bloom.

When we got to Cordero Channel, I noticed that all the slips were empty at the Cordero Lodge Marina.  

When I looked through the binoculars, the lodge appeared a bit tired around the edges.  This used to be a very popular spot.

It seemed like no time at all before we were heading into Sandy’s Cove, at Cordero Islands, where we would anchor for 3-1/2 hours, waiting for slack at Green Point Rapids.  Al rustled up fish tacos for dinner while we were waiting.  

At 1725 hrs, we pulled the anchor and headed through Green Point Rapids. The rapids at Green Point were a piece of cake.  However, we arrived at Whirlpool Rapids way before slack.  Al felt confident we could handle it, and he was right.  Other than a bit of fishtailing here and there, it wasn’t half bad.

Just ahead of us was a larger boat we had been following all the way to the Cordero Islands. Instead of waiting for slack at Green Point Rapids, he changed course and headed out Mayne Passage to Johnstone Strait and then back up Chancellor Channel.   We were really surprised to see him again, when we got to the entrance to Forward Harbour. He must have been shocked to see us just 2 minutes behind him.  The 3-1/2 hours we spent having dinner and waiting for slack at Green Point, he must have spent being bashed in Johnstone Strait. They were forecasting 30 knot winds in Johnstone, which would be really ugly.

I was tired and sore this morning.  Yesterday’s paddle had really taken its toll.  But, by late afternoon, the wind was calm and the light was beautiful… perfect conditions for a relaxing paddle.  

First, I headed over to the lagoon to see what it looked like at almost slack tide.  Remember how the lagoon looked when it wasn’t slack tide? Here’s the photo from the other day when it wasn’t slack tide.

And, here it is today, at almost slack tide.

I spotted an eagle being harassed by a couple of crows.  They were dogging him from one tree to another, cawing ceaselessly.  He was hating it.

I continued on around the shore and discovered a pretty little cove where someone had built a dock and house many years ago.  By the looks of it, things didn’t turn out as planned, and they eventually up and deserted the whole operation.  What remained of the house was underwater.  This piece of equipment, whatever it is, was left on the beach.

They even left a boat behind. 

It wound be interesting to know the story here.

There were beautiful wildflowers along the shore.

The prickly rose was in full bloom.

When I spotted something bright red up on the hill, I thought it was a wildflower, but it turned out to be bright red leaves.  

I was almost back to the boat when I spotted this pair of Common Mergansers.  They didn’t stick around long once they spotted me, so I didn’t have a whole lot of time to focus.